Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain today after airline Qantas grounded its flights across the globe because of a bitter industrial dispute.

The Australian national carrier decided to halt its fleet of 108 aircraft indefinitely until unions representing pilots and ground staff reach an agreement with the airline over pay and conditions.

Among the 70,000 passengers affected by the 600 cancelled flights are 17 Commonwealth leaders stranded in Perth following the summit there. However, neither David Cameron's nor the Queen's flights home have been affected, MailOnline was told.

Worldwide disruption: Passengers at airports around the world were left waiting for alternative flights as Qantas grounded its entire fleet

Passengers at Terminal 3 in Heathrow check their phones as they take in the news that their Qantas flights have been cancelled

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she had 'taken a rare decision' to call an emergency arbitration court hearing on Saturday night to end the strike

Australia’s Prime Minister Julia
Gillard, who hosted the summit which saw the Queen and David
Cameron attend, issued a dire warning over the strike's impact saying it could hurt the country’s
economy.

She said: 'The Qantas dispute
escalated today and I am concerned about that for the national economy
... it could have implications for our national economy.'

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The Prime Minister said her centre-left government, which is affiliated with the trade union movement, had 'taken a rare decision' to call an emergency arbitration court hearing on Saturday night to terminate the strike action.

'I believe it is warranted in the circumstances we now face with Qantas ... circumstances with this industrial dispute that could have implications for our national economy,' she added.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese described the grounding as 'disappointing' and 'extraordinary'.

He was reported to be furious that Qantas had only given him three hours' notice of their plan of action.

A Heathrow spokesman said four Qantas planes were due to take off from the airport today - meaning
hundreds of passengers who were scheduled to depart are now unable to
fly.

British passengers abroad who are due to use the carrier will also face travel disruption.

The Foreign Office issued a statement
advising those due to travel with the airline in the next 48 hours to
check on the Qantas website or to consult their tour operator.

International chaos: Passengers queuing at Qantas check-in counters at Changi International Airport in Singapore as the airline grounded its flights

NOW STRIKE ACTION AFFECTS AIR FRANCE

The
decision by Qantas comes on the same day Air France announced it has
cancelled about 20 per cent of its flights due to a strike by flight
attendants.

The
action is affecting mostly short- and medium-haul flights out of French
airports, but 10 long-haul flights were also cancelled today.

The
airline said the situation at Paris's main airport, Charles de Gaulle,
was largely normal, with most passengers on cancelled flights rebooked
on other airlines.

At the capital's Orly airport, however, about 200 passengers were waiting to be rebooked.

The
strike, in protest against cuts to cabin crews, comes during an
extended school holiday and at the start of a long weekend in France.
Tuesday is a public holiday and many people go away for the four-day
weekend.

The carrier plans to 'lock out' all
employees involved with industrial action from Monday evening. Staff
will not be required to turn up at work and will not be paid.

The airline had been forced to reduce
and reschedule flights for weeks because of a series of strikes over
staff concerns that their jobs are being moved overseas.

A Qantas spokesman said 600 flights have been cancelled because of the industrial action - affecting 70,000 passengers.

Flights in the air continued to their destinations, but others were stopped even taxiing on the runway, according to one flier, and all others were cancelled.

British tourist Chris Crulley, 25, said the pilot on his Qantas flight informed passengers while taxiing down a Sydney runway that he had to return to the terminal 'to take an important phone call'. The flight was then grounded.

'We're all set for the flight and settled in and the next thing - I'm stunned. We're getting back off the plane,' the firefighter told reporters from Sydney Airport by phone.

Crulley was happy to be heading home to Newcastle after a five-week vacation when his flight was interrupted. 'I've got to get back to the other side of the world by Wednesday for work. It's a nightmare,' he added.

Qantas offered him up to $350 Australian dollars a day for food and accommodation, but Crulley expected to struggle to find a hotel at short notice in Sydney on a Saturday night.

Waiting for information: Passengers at Hong Kong International Airport wait to hear more information as their Qantas flights are cancelled

The strikes have cost the airline 15 million Australian dollars (£10 million) a week.

The airline said customers booked on
Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice and a
full refund would be available for those affected.

A spokesman said: "Qantas regrets that this action has become necessary and apologises sincerely to all affected passengers."

A spokeswoman for British Airways,
which has a joint services agreement with the airline, said: "British
Airways-operated flights between the UK and Australia are not expected
to be disrupted at this time.

"Customers who are booked to travel
on a British Airways service operated by Qantas are urged to check the
status of their flight.

Flights in the air were continuing to their destinations and booked
passengers were being rescheduled at Qantas's expense, chief executive
Alan Joyce said.

Grounded to a halt: The airline said customers booked on Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice and a full refund would be available for those affected

Trying to depart: Passengers in Singapore wait at the departure area hoping to change flights after Qantas grounds their fleet worldwide

Bookings had already collapsed after unions warned travellers to
travel with other airlines over the busy Christmas-New Year period, and
Mr Joyce told a news conference in Sydney that the unions' actions have
caused a crisis for Qantas.

'They are trashing our strategy and our brand,' he said. 'They are
deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight.'

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would apply
to an arbitration court to rule on the strike action and the airline's
response.

'The government is extremely concerned about the future of Qantas,
its workforce but also the travelling public,' he told reporters.

All 108 aircraft in as many as 22 countries will be grounded until
unions representing pilots, mechanics, baggage handlers and caterers
reach agreements with Qantas over pay and conditions, Mr Joyce said.

'We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and
reach agreement with us,' he went on, referring to shutting staff out
of their work stations.

'This is a crisis for Qantas. If the action continues as the unions
have promised, we will have no choice but to close down Qantas part by
part.'

Staff will not be required to show up at work and will not be paid from Monday, Mr Joyce added.

He estimated the grounding will cost the airline 20 million dollars
(£13 million) a day. It has already had been forced to reduce and
reschedule flights for weeks because of a series of strikes and overtime
work bans over staff concerns that their jobs are being moved overseas.

Steve Purvinas, federal secretary of the mechanics' union, the
Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, described the
grounding as 'an extreme measure'.